Fifty Shades too young of Steele-Grey
by Summer.LS1222
Summary: After Ray dies from a car accident, Anastasia Steele a 17 year old high school student proclaims her independence from her mother with the help of Elliot Grey. She moves to Seattle to start her new life in hopes of burying her past. Shortly before her 18th birthday, Elliot helps her get a better job with his younger brother, Christian Grey. What will become of them once they meet?
1. Chapter 1: How it all began

**After reading a lot of different FF stories, there was this one that stuck out and made me want to do my own version of it. In essence, it may be similar to it, but I am doing my own spin. While I was just going to hand write the whole story, I decided to join and put it up, since after all it was another user's story that gave me the idea, which finally pushed me to do this. So, without further ado, I share with those that want to my version of Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James and the FF story that inspired me. Thank you in advance and hope you enjoy Fifty Shades too young of Steele-Grey!**

**P.S. Before I forget, all italics will be what the characters are thinking...I think I will limit the story as you will tell to just the point of view of Anastasia and Christian, but I may add some more character's perspectives. Anyways, I will for sure do every chapter from both, Anastasia and Christian's points of view so please be patient with me. Well, once again thanks!**

**Disclaimer: All of the original characters belong to the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy by E.L James. I do not own any of the work. I will maintain some parallels to the main story or other fan fiction, but it will mainly be my original work and include new characters.**

**This story will be strictly rated M. For mature audience, due to language and sexual content.**

**Chapter 1 - How it all began...**

**APOV**

*sob* _why? Why? WHY! WHY DADDY! _*sob* _I cannot lose you please...PLEASE DEAR GOD! Somehow he has to be fine...he just has to...he has to._

I am brought out of my thoughts when I hear someone by the entry way of the waiting room.

"Ms. Steele...?" asks a doctor with a worried expression.

"Yes, I am Anastasia Steele. How is my father?" I reply hoping for the best. _After all, I have been in this waiting room for nearly 11 hours. I know it is almost time to go to school, but I don't want to go. I want to be with my father. At least, it is already Thursday, so I will just have to go today and tomorrow. So, I will have all weekend with him. Thank god. I will be able to help in his recovery somewhat, since I will have to go to school again, but at least they are all going to be half days due to the finals and AP Exams, so everything will be fine. I will be able to organize everything. I hope._

"Well Ms. Steele, I was one of the doctors in charge of your father..." before the doctor could explain further I cut him off.

"Wait, what do you mean was...?" I question while jumping out of my seat.

"Ms. Steele please sit down" the doctor implores me.

"Please, Dr..." I begin to beg him to answer.

"Dr. Roberts" he quickly replies, but once again he remains quiet wanting me to sit down.

As I sit down, I begin to question him again "well Dr. Roberts what happened to my father? When will I be able to see him? How long will he have to be here? Will he be ok?"

He waits for my rant to die down before he begins to explain everything, "Ms. Steele, your father was in a major car accident. When he arrived, he had severe external injuries, but our concerns were more on the internal damage that may have occurred. The paramedics listed that he had fallen unconscious shortly after getting him in the ambulance, which was alarming and suggested a major head injury, which would have been our second priority to address. They also included that he had a broken arm, leg and ribs. As soon as he arrived, our focus was on the possible damage due to his broken ribs. Indeed, there was serious internal bleeding and one of his ribs was puncturing his lung, but due to the angle he was somehow still alive. We rushed him immediately to the operating room, where we were trying to stop the bleeding and repair his lung. However, his blood loss was too great and went into cardiac arrest three times throughout the surgery. We were able to stabilize him after the first and second cardiac arrests, but by the third he was very weak," he takes a breath preparing to say what I already know and fear most.

"I am sorry Ms. Steele. We tried our best, but your father has passed away" he calmly waits by my chair, in order to see what will happen.

I don't say anything. I drop my eyes to the ground as they begin to pool with tears. _My daddy, my strong and stoic father, Ray Steele has passed away. Just like that my world has come to an end. I close my eyes and begin to shake my head no. This can't be. He is going to be fine. He can't be dead. He is my daddy, and he will be fine. Yesterday can't be the last day that I saw him. What am I going to do now? Am I going to have to go live with that woman that goes by mother and Bob now? No. NO! NOOO! I will not. I will be with my daddy. Now. And, ALWAYS!_

Before the doctor can say anything else, I jump from my seat, and I run. I run until I reach my car. I quickly drive back to the house, because I know as soon as the tears begin that will be it for me. I will be opening up the flood gates. In less than 10 minutes and after breaking who knows how many laws, I am back at the house. Once again, I run. I run up the driveway. I run to the door. I run into the house. I run up the stairs. I run into his room. I run to get to his bed, but before I can reach it, I trip. It is out of my grasp, just like my daddy. I fall to the floor, and I am lost. I hand myself over to the sadness that began to eat at me, since hearing those words. I cry and cry and cry. Meanwhile, I ball myself as small as possible as if doing so will help me contain myself from breaking into the million pieces that I can feel my heart shattering into. I have just lost the one true love that I had in my life. My daddy. So I let myself get lost. I lose myself in the darkness that is filling and holding together the shards of my heart, and soon enough I fall asleep.

Next thing I know, there is knocking at the door. I slowly get up from the floor and glance at the clock. It's 5:23 pm. _Well, so much for going to school today._ I slowly walk down the stairs and open the door. I see an older man in his fifty's with gray hair and kind brown eyes. He is wearing a suit and holding a briefcase. He does not wait for me to speak. He just starts to explain himself.

"Good afternoon, my name is Andrew Johnson. I used to be your father's attorney. You must be his daughter, Anastasia. It is a pleasure to meet you" he extends his hand for me to shake, which I do and so he continues to talk. "Well, I am here in order to explain to you what will happen, since all of this must be very confusing for you." He states and pauses while looking at me directly at my eyes. I still don't say anything. If I begin to talk, I am afraid I will just start to cry again. _And, now, I need to be strong, strong like my daddy. _He begins to realize that I will still not say anything. After another couple of awkward minutes standing there, he finally caves and asks, "May I come in?" I just nod and move aside. We walk straight to the dining room table and sit down. He commences talking again. "Well, as I already explained I was your father's attorney, so I am here to explain to you what will be happening for the next 24-48 hours," he states and allows for the information to sink in. I just nod again, in order to let him know that I am ready for him to continue. So, he begins to explain again, "since you are a minor by law, I have already notified your mother, and she will be flying up to Montesano. When she arrives tomorrow, I will read Ray's will. As for now, we have already begun the process of his funeral, which will occur on Sunday morning at 10:00 am" he pauses again to see how I am, but as he waits for me to acknowledge him I realize that my mother is coming. Before he can continue, I blurt out "I don't want to see my mother." The lawyer looks at me questioningly and states "Anastasia, you are still a minor. I am afraid you will have to see her, and move back with her."

_No. NO. NO! NOO! No fucking way in hell am I living with her. We haven't even spoken, since after I told her what happened with that dreadful man, husband number 3, and she chose him over me._ I ask, "Is there any way, in which I don't have to live with her and stay here?" _After all, I would not just be dealing with losing my father, well step-father, but I would also be having to leave Montesano and my few good friends, Madison and Beth._

Mr. Johnson ponders what I am saying prior to finally replying, "Since you are 17 years-old, you can petition for an emancipation, which could be active almost immediately, depending on your mother's response to it. You would have to find a new place of residency, since this house would be taken by the bank and find a job to prove you can support yourself, even if you do or do not receive any money from the will, because you are still under 18 that money will not be available to you. Once you do turn 18, you will officially be an independent adult, and you will also receive whatever money may have been left to you."

I sit thinking about what he just said. I have always taken care of Ray one way or another, so I know how to take care of myself. I think I can do this. I just need to find a job. If I can find a lead for a job before my 'mother' comes then I will proceed with the emancipation. I answer him, "Mr. Roberts, I would like to start up the process for emancipation. If I am able to find a job before my mother arrives, I would like to continue. I know it will probably be quite some money, but I will pay you as soon as I get my first paycheck. I swear."

"Anastasia, do not worry about the money. I will gladly help you if you do wish to proceed with the emancipation. I think you are being very mature and handling this very well, so do not worry. You just let me know. I will draw up the paperwork, so they will be ready to submit as soon as you decide. Ok?" He concludes.

_I cannot believe it. Wow! He would actually help me! I have known him for less than an hour, yet this person believes and cares more than my own mother could._ "Well thank you very much Mr. Johnson. You have no idea how much I appreciate what you just said," I tell him as I look at him straight in the eyes, in order to convey my appreciation.

"I guess that is it for now then Ms. Steele, I will be back to read the will to you and your mother, and we will proceed from there. Now, if you will excuse me, I should get going. Good evening." he concludes as he extends his hand for me to shake again. I do so gladly. I walk him out to the door. As soon as he leaves, I make a run for my dad's workshop in the garage, in order to begin my search for a job.

At almost 11 pm, I call it quits. So far no such luck. _Great. Just great! At this rate, I will have to be moving in with HER..._*augh* I can feel the bile rise at the idea of having to live with her, no matter how short of an extent of time that it may be.

I make myself a cereal and go on to take a shower, in order to get ready for bed. I go to sleep almost instantly. All I can think is why? But, I guess I should try and just get through the last days of my junior year. There is no point in questioning my existence and the universe and all, since I am useless against it.

When I wake up, it is 8:06 am. _Shit! _I overslept! _Crap! _I need to get to school. Great I was hoping on having more time to search for a job, but I guess that will have to wait until I get back from school today.

The day goes by really slowly. I avoid Madison and Beth. I don't think I could handle talking to them just yet. As soon as my seventh period let's out, I make a run for the student parking to go home. As I get home, I get a text message from her. She will be here by 6:30 pm tonight, so that leaves me a little under two and a half hours to get a job. _Oh please. Oh please. Dear God. Please! Let me find a job._

I instantly go to the garage and begin looking through the address book my dad used for his clients and competition. As I lift the book from the table, a card falls out. _Weird, I hadn't noticed this card before._ As I pick it up, I notice that there is writing on the back...**_Ray, remember if you ever need anything, and I mean anything do not hesitate to call._** Well, if this person was so willing to help my dad, I guess they might do him one last favor. I turn the card around to see who it is from. _Hmm. Elliot Grey from Grey Construction Seattle, WA. Well that's just great it had to be Seattle. I guess I should call anyways maybe they have something here in Montesano or I could always just move there I guess. What am I thinking? Could I leave Montesano? __*sigh*__ I don't think I could stay here surrounded by everything that reminds me of my dad without completely falling apart. Alright, well I will just see. After all, I do have to find a new place to live. Well, first things first, I have to stop getting ahead of myself. I still know nothing from this man regarding a possible job, and I am already planning ahead. Ok. I just need to try._

I reach the back pocket of my jeans and pull out my phone to dial the number. As I type in the last digit, my finger hovers on the call button. _Please. Please give me a change God. I don't want to move with her across the country. I can handle myself._

I press the button. Well I guess this is it.

The phone rings and rings. By the 5th ring, I am thinking of just hanging up, but before I do I hear someone on the other line.

"Elliot Grey speaking" he states.

I am shocked that he actually answered when I was just about to hang up, so for some reason I cannot speak.

Noticing the silence, he speaks again "Hello? This is Elliot Grey speaking. Who is this?"

For fear of him hanging up, I begin to talk "Yes, hello sorry Mr. Grey...umm this is Anastasia Steele...I'm umm Ray Steele's daughter."

"Yes, hi. I remember Ray. Wow. I didn't know he had a daughter. It has been what 6-7 months, since I last spoke with him. Well, anyways how is he? What can I do for you?" he says and waits for my response.

"Well, Mr. Grey..." before I can continue he stops me and says "call me Elliot."

"Well, umm...Mr...Umm...Elliot I was calling to see if there was any chance perhaps that you could give me a job" I wait to see what he will say before I resort to having to speak about my dad. I would hate to pressure him like that.

Before he speaks again to me, I hear him excuse himself. Then, he is back on the phone with me, "Ok well Anastasia, I don't really have much right now that could possibly be appropriate for you. There is a lot of heavy labor and I need experienced workers. If you and your dad need more money or something, I think I can send some jobs for Ray to do, so why don't you let me speak with him."

"Oh...umm...well I don't think that will be possible, but I will be more than happy to do anything. I swear. I am a hard worker" I state hoping to redirect the conversation away from my dad, but no such luck.

"Yes, I believe that you would be a hard worker knowing how Ray is, but I would really like to speak with him first," he states waiting for me to pass the phone to my dad.

*sigh* _I guess I have no choice, but to tell him. Well, it is now or never, before I lose the little strength that I have..._"Well Mr. Grey, it's just that my father passed away yesterday, and I need to find a job now and such and well I found your card within my dad's stuff in his workshop and I guess I just thought that I would give it a try...so umm yeah well thanks anyways. Sorry to have wasted your time. Good bye," I say as quickly as possible before I break down crying. _That's it I will have to move with her. WHY?!_

Right before I hang up, I hear him say "Wait Anastasia wait hang on a second..."

"Yes" I reply quietly.

"I am sorry for your loss. I had no idea. Ray was such a good man, and I would be honored to help him out by helping you out. Do you still live in Montesano? If so, I do not have anything down there. I have all my jobs here in Seattle, so I guess you can commute, but that's a lot of driving. I could try and find something for you down there and send some of my guys to help you out," he continues to rant his ideas, but before he can go on I cut him off.

"Mr. Grey...umm that's really not necessary. I will have to move out of my house, so if the work is in Seattle. Then, that's where I will be. I would be glad to move, but umm...I will need to do so after next week while I am on umm summer break," I quickly and quietly say hoping that he didn't really hear the end.

"Whoa. Wait. Summer break. Are you in college? If so, would it be wise for you to move here? Or will you be graduating soon?" he asks me with curiosity.

"Well...Actually..." I begin, but I cannot find it in me to tell him.

"Actually. Actually what Anastasia? If you want this job, you will have to let me know exactly what you are planning to do," he asks irritated and waits for my response.

"Well, Mr. Grey. I am actually just finishing my junior year of high school," I wait for him to react to what I have just shared.

"YOU WILL WHAT!?" he shouts. _Yup, just as I thought. Well that was as close as I will get._ He however continues to question me, "Anastasia exactly how old are you?" he angrily questions.

"I am 17 sir," I wait for the next set of questions.

"So, you are a 17 year-old asking me for a job, willing to move more than 2 hours away from home in order to do hard labor in a city you don't know without any help from anyone? And, what? Will you still be attending school or will you be dropping out?" he summarizes.

"Well, I was hoping to work all summer in order to save enough money to be able to afford my own apartment or something. Then, I was planning on getting a part time job while I finished my senior year at least, because I know it is hard enough getting a good job without a college degree let alone a high school diploma" I respond hoping that will suffice, but again no such luck.

"Are you alone Anastasia? Don't you have anyone else to turn to?" he asks quietly. I can almost feel his pity for me. I wonder if I should or should not tell him about my mother. _Hmmm...well I might as well. If he finds out later on he might just force me to go back to her, which will have made all my efforts pointless. And, by then who knows how she will treat me, since I would have put her through this situation._

"Not exactly sir. I still have my mother but that's it. But, before you begin asking anymore. I have not spoken or seen my mother in nearly nine years. Nothing. Absolutely no contact whatsoever. So, she is basically a stranger. She was never really my mother, and even though Ray was my step-father, he was more of a father than she was my mother, even though she gave birth to me. I am planning on emancipating myself from her," I conclude and wait for him to say something. I wait and wait. Wow did he hang up on me. Nope. The call is still on.

"Umm...? Are you there?" I question willing him to not hang up on me and turn me down.

"How many people have you called about a job?" he asks. _Wow. I was not expecting that question. I wonder where he is going with this._

"Umm...you are like the 18th person I have called. I understand if you cannot give me a job. I was just really hoping to find one in order to proceed with the emancipation process, but I guess that isn't going to happen. Well, thank you for your time again" I state disappointedly.

"Wait, Anastasia. Just hang on. What is with you wanting to hang up on me," he pauses as he starts to talk away from his phone to someone then he continues, "Ok here is the deal I will give you a job under certain conditions. Ok?" he states.

"Wait, seriously?! You would give me a job? Yes, of course what are the conditions?" I state before he regrets his offer.

"Ok, for starters do not worry about finding an apartment. I have a guest house, which you are more than welcome to use as long as needed, and I do not want to hear anything about rent until you are at least college bound if you decide to go to school nearby. I will give you whatever tasks I can, but I do think you should find a better suited job for yourself. However, the job hunt can wait until you have completely settled down. I will drive down there tomorrow to meet you and personally help you with whatever is necessary and stay there until you finish school. Afterwards, we will come back up to Seattle. When you come here, I will immediately enroll in my old high school. Understood? I will sign for anything if necessary as your guardian. And, like I said you will be college bound no buts. If you can agree to this then I guess we have a deal, so what is it going to be?" he finishes.

_Seriously! Who is this person! OMG! This has got to be the nicest person I have ever met! I bet he is just like Ray. I know that I will never be able to replace him, but maybe we will have a similar relationship... _"Of course Mr. Grey! I do not know what to say! Thank you! Thank you so much!" I say graciously.

"Sure, no problem, but Anastasia one more thing" he states.

"Yes, Mr. Grey?" I ask. _What could it be?_

"Remember…call me Elliot. Well, I will let you know when I get there, but it should not be any later than noon tomorrow. And, this is your cell phone, right?" he informs me.

"Yep, it is. And, Elliot?" I pause to completely get ahold of his attention, "thank you. I will see you tomorrow." I say ready to hang up the best call of my life.

"Laters" he says and hangs up. _Hmm weird good-bye for an old man._

_Wow. I can't believe it. I actually got a job. I got a job. I GOT A JOB! If Ray could see me now. _*sob* _No I am not going to cry anymore. I will be strong, just like him. I will move forwards head on. Now to call, and begin to pack up. I am counting the hours until I am finally in Seattle and away from my mother. I just have to get through this week, especially the rest of today and then the weekend. I bet after my mother learns of the emancipation I will not have to worry about her ever again. Well, I guess I will find out in about an hour and a half._

**CPOV**

_Mommy? Mommy! Mommy! I'm hungry mommy...Mommy? Oh no he's back. I have to hide. I need to hide. I can hear him. He's here. OH WHAT NOW?! WHAT HAS THAT BITCH DONE NOW! FOR FUCKS SAKE. NOW WHERE ARE YOU, YOU LITTLE BASTARD COME HERE! OH THERE YOU ARE! Pain. Pain. So much pain._

*huff* _oh for fucks sake another god damn fucking nightmare. _I look over to my alarm clock. Its 3:15 am. _Great. Just fucking great! It's already god damn fucking Thursday. I might as well get up now, since there's no way I'll be able to fall back asleep. Same as any other day._

I go to my piano and play until 5:00 am. _Well at least that's a more reasonable time to be awake._

I go back to my room and change to my workout outfit. I might as well burn off all this extra energy until I go to work. _I should really find a new sub. It's been 2 months, since I got rid of Susannah, but I can't handle another one of them irritating the shit out of me. I guess I can do a one night scene at least. Yeah. I'll call Elena to arrange it for tomorrow after work._

I go down to workout with Taylor following my every move. Then, I go back up to shower, change, and eat before going to work as always at 7:40 am to be there by 8:00 am. I go to my meetings then do lunch, and before I now it, it is already 8:55 pm. I guess I should go back home now. I leave and get home at 9:15 pm, so I go straight to my office. I don't come out of my office until it is 10:30 pm. I already called Elena for a sub. _I really need a quick fuck, so I arranged everything for tomorrow._ I eat dinner, take a shower, and go to bed answering last minute emails. After midnight rolls around, I decide to call it a night. I turn off the lights and go to sleep knowing that in 3 or so hours I would be waking up due to my nightmares again. Always. Always the same.

_Mommy? Mommy! Mommy! I'm hungry mommy...Mommy? Oh no he's back. I have to hide. I need to hide. I can hear him. He's here. OH WHAT NOW?! WHAT HAS THAT BITCH DONE NOW! FOR FUCKS SAKE. NOW WHERE ARE YOU, YOU LITTLE BASTARD COME HERE! OH THERE YOU ARE! WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU COULD HIDE FROM ME! I try to escape, but he is to strong. He throws me onto the floor. Pain. Pain. So much pain._

*ah* _Great_ *huff* It's now 3:23 am, but Friday instead. I swear all the days have begun to mesh together. I go down to my piano again. I play until it is 5:00 am again. Then, I go down to workout with Bastille while Taylor watches me again. Then, I go back to the penthouse to shower, change, and eat. I leave for work at 7:40 am again, and I start work at 8:00 am. It is now lunch time and as I am about to start eating Elliot walks in. _What the fuck is he doing here? Oh yeah I told him to come to lunch today to discuss the reparations needed at the shipyard and the new buildings that I acquired._

"Well, hello little bro. It is nice to see you. If I remember correctly, I was supposed to meet you for lunch, yet here you are already eating," he points out.

"Oh fuck off Elliot. I forgot," I remark not willing to tolerate his attitude.

"Ouch, jeesh, you already forgot about your big brother? Well, I should be offended," he answers.

"Well, you are here now, so sit down. I will call Andrea to get you some lunch," I offer and as I am about to call Andrea. Elliot receives a call. He does not seem to care for it, but he quickly changes his mind and answers it.

"Elliot Grey speaking" he states. Then, he waits for the other person to reply, but I guess there's silence, since he scrunches his face before speaking again, "Hello? This is Elliot Grey speaking. Who is this?" There finally seems to be an answer, so he replies "Yes, hi. I remember Ray. Wow. I didn't know he had a daughter. It has been what 6-7 months, since I last spoke with him. Well, anyways how is he? What can I do for you?" _Who the hell is he talking to? Who is this Ray person? What does it matter that he has a daughter? _Then, he shocks me because he tells the person on the other line to call him Elliot, but before I can hear more he excuses himself to go take the call outside of my office. _Seriously. The fuck is he going to just leave me here while he takes that call. A personal one from the change in his tone of voice. _So, I start eating. As I finish my meal, I am surprised that Elliot still has not returned from his call. _I know that I eat fast, but__ where the fuck is he? Did he just leave? _I get up and go to the door. As I open it, I hear him say "Wait, Anastasia. Just hang on. What is with you wanting to hang up on me?" _What the fuck?! Seriously, he left me inside to talk to one of his fucking whores of the month._ He must have felt my eyes burning a hole in his head, because he turns around and tells me that he will just be a few more minutes. _Like hell he will be! _But, I go back into my office but not before I hear the remaining of his sentence, "Ok here is the deal I will give you a job under certain conditions. Ok?"

_Really? He not only left to talk to some bitch, but as it turns out, it has to be a prostitute...Well, isn't that what I basically do. _*augh* _whatever. _I sit back down at my desk and wait for him to come back.

About 10 minutes pass until he comes back in, I don't even let him sit back down before I start to tell him off.

"Well, Elliot, you managed to take up basically all of my lunch time talking to one of your one night stands, so you have just about 2 minutes to update me on the progress of the construction sites," I say looking him right in the eyes, so he understands that I'm dead serious.

"Really?! Like really Christian? You are fucking going there" he angrily retorts.

I just sit there looking at him and wait yet again for him to speak.

He finally gets it and speaks, "Fine! Just fucking fine! Everything is on fucking schedule! There you happy? Are you fucking happy now? God damn it Christian not everything is fucking about you or your bizarre need to be master of the fucking universe. You seriously did not even bother to find out what was happening for fucks sake!" he shouts back at me. _Wow, I was not expecting that._ But, he continues his rant, "I will be out of town starting tomorrow, and I will not be back until next weekend. So, if YOU!" he pauses to point a finger at me, "Mr. Grey need anything call Matthew as he is my second in command" he is almost blue in the face from shouting at me. He turns around, and he looks at me again before he says, "just for once in my fucking life I would like to deal with Christian Grey my brother not Christian Grey the douchebag CEO." He then turns around and leaves my office. _Well what the fuck was that!_ I am stunned speechless. I don't think I have ever heard Elliot talk to me like that. I am soon brought out of my thoughts as I hear Andrea through the intercom telling me that my next meeting is in 10 minutes. Well, it is back to work for me then. The rest of the day goes by in a blur. I realize that I have the reservation of the room at the club and the sub tonight, but after what happened with Elliot I am no longer in the mood. I quickly text Elena to cancel stating that I cannot go as I am busy with work. I just go home though around 9:30 pm and quickly eat dinner, so I can go to bed. I try to figure out why the fuck Elliot's words affected me so much, but soon enough I fall asleep.

**APOV**

After the phone call, I really applied myself to get all the essentials out of the way. It is now 5 minutes to 6:30 pm, when I hear knocking at the door. It is Mr. Johnson. _Thank god._

I open the door and let him in. As soon as we get to the dining room table, there is another knock at the door. This time I know that it is her. I walk back and open the door. We don't say anything. She just comes in, and she follows me back to the dining room table.

After we sit down, Mr. Johnson begins to talk.

"Well, good evening Mrs. Adams. I am Mr. Andrew Johnson. I used to be Ray Steele's attorney. So, first things first I will begin reading his will. Then, if you or Anastasia have any questions, you may ask me. Lastly, there is one other topic to discuss, but that can wait until the end. Are you both ready to begin?" he declares as he accurately encompasses the entire evening.

I nod, and she says a short yes.

Mr. Johnson opens his briefcase and opens a folder before he begins to read. I take this moment to study my mother more. She has not really changed. She still looks just like an older version of me, except she has shoulder length hair rather than my waist long hair. She also has a tan, but I guess that is partly due to her living in Georgia rather than here in Washington, which supports my pale complexion. I return the focus of my baby blue eyes to Mr. Johnson, while she has had her hazel eyes on him the entire time.

"Mr. Ray Steele leaves all of his personal possessions to Miss Anastasia Steele to do as she pleases. He leaves her his collection of fishing gear. Lastly, he leaves her with $100,000 from his insurance policy to do as she may deem fit upon her 18th birthday. Regarding the house and the cars, they will be taken over by the bank. Anastasia you have one month to leave the house, but the cars will be taken immediately, so you must clean them out. So, are there any questions?" he concludes.

_I am in shock. Holy shit! I'm going to have $100,000! I might actually be able to go to college, and for now I just basically have to work to support myself, which should not be a problem since Elliot will be helping me out. I will actually be able to repay his generosity._ I am brought back to the conversation, when my mother decides to speak.

"If everything was left to her, then why do I have to be here?" she angrily questions him.

"You are here, because Anastasia is still a minor. I could not read the will to her solely. She is also still your daughter and therefore, your legal responsibility, which brings me to the other reason that we are here. Anastasia has decided to become emancipated from you" he replies coldly.

She just stares at him then turns to me briefly before turning her attention back to him. When she looks at him, she responds, "That's just fine by me. Where do I sign? I want to leave here as soon as possible."

Mr. Johnson and I are shocked. I cannot believe how easily she is giving me away yet again! Well, I guess I shouldn't complain, but still she couldn't at least have spoken with me first before deciding what she was going to do?!

Mr. Johnson finally reacts and takes out a different folder. She signs first. Then, I sign. Then, Mr. Johnson signs and notarizes the documents. When it is all done, he says that he will submit the documents first thing Monday morning. We will then simply receive a letter of approval, since both of us were so willing to cooperate. Afterwards, I will be randomly reviewed to ensure that I am meeting all of state's requirements.

She stands up and all she does is look at me. Then, she quietly says good-bye. She then sees herself out. I guess that's the last time that I will see my mother. To some extent, I have officially lost both parents as of now.

Mr. Johnson stands up and also takes his leave after stating that he will be at my disposal if needed. He also mentions that he will be attending the funeral.

When he leaves, I go into the kitchen and eat a sandwich. Then, I slowly go into my bathroom to take a shower. When I am finished, I crawl into bed. _This is it. I'm all by myself now. This is what I wanted, so why do I feel like this_? As I continue to question myself, I drift to sleep hoping for a better tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting Strangers

**Hello! I'm back again sorry it took me so long to update a new chapter, but I wanted to fix a couple things from chapter 1, just little things. I am trying not to be a perfectionist for the sake of getting my version of the story out there, but I keep wanting to rewrite. I really can't believe how quickly people responded to my story, and it means a lot to me, so thank you all. **

**As for the couple of questions in the reviews, I want to quickly answer them, but I don't want to give much away. I mean what is the fun in that?**

**Christian is 28 years-old in this story. He has the same past and day to day struggles. I am not really changing him too much from what E.L James captured. He will pretty much grow and develop similarly. As for Anastasia's character, I will be doing more drastic changes to her character as you can already tell. So please bear with me as I develop her character more. In regards to the other characters, Elliot and Jose will be more prominent in the story. Jose and Kate will also be a tad different, but overall everyone will remain somewhat the same and like I previously mentioned I will be including new characters as well.**

**Well anyways, hope you enjoy Chapter 2! I look forward to your other questions and comments! Yes, even the bad ones. I am in no way a writer, up to now I have actually detested writing any form of works, but I do enjoy reading. So, this is the first time that I actually put pen to paper on my own free will regarding my own thoughts and ideas...so this is all new to me. Again, please be patient with me and well, like I said thank you all!**

**Chapter 2 - Meeting strangers**

**APOV**

I wake up in a haze and the feelings that I believed to have bottled up on Thursday after my meltdown come rushing out. I try with all my might to stop myself, but the tears escape my eyes before I am aware. I am in full out sobs once again. _I._ *sob* _I. _*sob* _I am actually alone. I have lost my father and my mother. One of which was not by choice at all, so if it was so painful why did I choose to lose my mother? Why? God. Why do I love her? After all that she has put me through, why do I care? Oh right? _*sob* _I want someone to care for me. I want her to want me, but it is no use. SHE will always put herself before others. Well. That's it! I will not give her the satisfaction of coming before Ray. Oh my daddy! How I wish that he was still here. Ok. Breath. Yeah Breath. I have to get ready for today. I need to leave here as soon as possible. I need to forget._ *sniff* _Ok that's it out of bed._ So with that, I throw my covers back and swing my feet to the ground. I take slow tentative steps to the bathroom and stretch. _Jeesh. My body feels like it had been squished under a ton of bricks, but no it does not matter how I feel. I will take it over the growing pain inside. I will get through this week as 'normally' as possible._ Before I reach the shower, I look over to my alarm clock. It is already 10:53 am. _Hmm. He should be here soon. I wonder what he will be like in person. He was pretty friendly on the phone, so I bet he is one of those old men who do not behave their age. Oh well. I guess that's better than a stiff, even though Ray was always so serious. He made me feel safe. He made me forget that year. Wait, no! I'm not going to think about that. I am NOT going to think about that. Not today. Not ever. I repeat to myself. _*sigh* _Might as well just focus on the task at hand. I need to be ready to meet Mr. Grey as well as get the house ready for the wake tomorrow. So, focus Ana. Focus. Breath. Ok._

I open the hot water and give it a few moments to warm up. Once the steam begins to fill the room, I step inside. I want the scolding water to not just clean me, but my thoughts. When the water begins to cool down, I know I cannot procrastinate any longer. I get out and change. _Black. All black. Black dress. Black socks. Black boots. All just black. I always wondered why black? But, I guess there is no better color to capture a broken heart. Ok. Breath._ *sigh* I have to remember to do that. I look back at my clock, and it's already 12:30 pm. _Mr. Grey should have reached out to me by now. Oh well I guess I will be hearing from him at any moment now. Great. I didn't eat anything. Not that I'm hungry anyways._ As soon as my thoughts were going to go back to Mr. Grey, I hear a knock on the door. _That must be him! Whoa, where did that come from? Why am I so excited about meeting him? I guess because he had a close relationship with Ray. Yeah that must be it. _As I finish putting on my boots, I exit my room and slowly descend the stairs. I do not understand why I am so nervous. I start to unconsciously fix my dress, even though it is not out of place. I then tuck my hair behind my ears. _I should have dried it better. It's going to get really frizzy now. Why do I even care what I look like?_ When I reach for the door handle, my hand shakes furiously as I open the door.

When I finally manage to open the door, there is a 6'2'' or 6'3'' tall broad shouldered man in all black with his back to me. He slowly turns around and faces me. I am taken aback. _This man cannot be Mr. Grey. _He is in his mid-twenties or late-twenties at most. _Seriously, who is this standing in front of me?_ As I take him in, he is nothing but muscle underneath his black sweater and black denim pants. When I finally reach his face, it is topped with the curliest of blond hair, which makes his clear blue eyes ever more mesmerizing. Upon landing my gaze on his lips, I see the widest full mega-watt smile crack his already beautiful expression as if it were possible, he looks even more handsome. _Wow did I just think that!_ I do not even know how long I stand there gaping at him, but I finally am able to catch my breath. When I do, I immediately babble what comes to mind, "umm hello...I umm... well...umm...ww what can I do for you."

A small smile plays on the corners of his lips, which for the life of me I cannot tear my focus from until I hear him speak in a soft and deep calming voice, "Hello there Anastasia. It's me Elliot Grey."

I stare directly at his blue eyes dumbfounded. _This cannot be Elliot Grey. How could this beautiful young...WOW what am I even thinking! And what the hell am I getting goose bumps for! This man no doubt has a girlfriend or something...Seriously. OMG what on earth is happening to me... But really, how could this man in front of me have had a close relationship with Ray. God damn it! I need to snap out of it! But, it is useless. I cannot help but stare at him and feel an odd sense of what...comfort?_

*gulp* "OH, umm hi Mr. Grey" I say in a surprisingly bright voice. _Really. WHAT THE FUCK am I doing he is going to think I am a freak or something...FOCUS._

He lightly chuckles before answering in a mock scolding tone, "Now, Anastasia what did I say about the whole Mr. Grey thing. Mr. Grey is my father or my serious as fuck brother. Me." He pauses to point his thumbs to himself, "I am just plain old Elliot." _Hmm... There is nothing plain or old about you. Really?! Augh. I am sickened by my thoughts! Just a while ago I was freaking out about being alone and feeling nearly squished by the sadness that now inhabits my heart, yet one look at him and I feel the same as I did when I came home to Ray. I feel safe. I feel protected. I feel like I could just grab on tight and forget all the sorrows again. WHAT IS THIS! I should not be feeling this way about anyone! Let alone Mr. Gorgeous. Augh. _

He just keeps staring at me as if waiting for something. _Oh right. God damn it, I'm stupid! He wants to come in! _

"Umm, well ok then umm Elliot, why don't you come in?" I state and move away from the door, so he can step through, "oh! And I umm well you can call me Ana."

As soon as he steps inside, he begins to look around the house. _What the fuck is he looking for? The nearest exit? Yeah well that would have been the door you came in through...so._

"You have a lovely home Ana. I can see you already started packing, so I guess today and tomorrow I can help you pack up the rest of the stuff that can be put away. We can get that stuff moved to Seattle late Sunday or early Monday. I have already hired a moving crew so don't worry about it. Whatever remains we will just take it with us in the truck next weekend" he comments. _Well not leaving me much of a choice now are you? Well I guess I should be grateful that he is handling all this, since I do not have the slightest idea of where to begin._

He continues talking as we walk through the house and enter the kitchen "so, Ana is your mother here. I know you mentioned that you were not on speaking terms and such, but I believe that she should still be notified of the entire situation. I would also like a word with her. I would not want to overstep any boundaries." _What boundaries is he talking about? It is not like she is really responsible for me or any of this._

As he sits down on the counter waiting for me to respond, I go over to the stove to boil some water for tea. I really need something to distract me from breaking down with this conversation. I quickly as him, "do you want tea or coffee?"

"Whatever you are having is fine by me," he responds. _I know he doesn't really care about drinks, since he just really wants me to answer the freaking question._

I continue with the task at hand. Once the water starts to boil, I reach for the cups in the cabinet, but the only clean ones are on the top shelf. _Shit!_ I should not have started packing the kitchen just yet. Before I start to climb onto the counter opposite from him to reach for the cups, Elliot slides down from where he is seated and is right by my side moving me away, so that he can reach for them. _Yeah I get it your tall, and I'm short. Big freaking deal!_

"Careful there Ana banana, wouldn't want you getting hurt now would we?" he says as he flashes a quick smile. _Ana banana? What is it with him? He barely knows me, yet he is already giving me nicknames and stuff._

I just quietly reply, "thank you."

"No problem, like I said it is my honor to help Ray by helping you. I mean it Ana. You can trust me" he claims. _I don't know why, but I feel like I can. Augh. What is he trying to get at!_

He puts the cups for tea on the counter near the stove and then turns off the stove, while I get the tea bags out of the pantry. I walk back to the counter and put the tea bags in the cups, and he grabs the kettle. As he pours the water, I decide I want to add honey to my tea this time. _I want to take it just like Ray would make it. I go back to the pantry to get the hardly used honey. I rather like my tea black and weak. Whenever we were sick though, Ray would make sure the tea was stronger and would sneak in a spoon full of honey. I know he knew that I was aware of the changes that he made to my tea, but I always welcomed the fact of him wanting to take care of me._

"Honey?" I ask while still remembering Ray.

"Yes, dear" he utters. _Does he really think this is funny? Seriously! _Before I can say anything back to him, he chuckles, "come on Ana banana bring the honey before the tea gets cold." _How can this person be so, so… augh I don't even know what! I swear his jokes are getting old. Yes, like him. Which I don't seem to mind too much! Augh. Again. Ana! Focus. Focus. FOCUS! I don't know why I originally felt the way that I did. I must be desperate for attention I guess. But, now he is just irritating me with this lively mood of his. Really? Do you not get that my dad just died?! And, you are joking with his daughter like this! When you are supposedly a close friend of his who wants to help me. Yet, Ray never told him about me. Hmm. I guess I should ask him that before we begin to talk about anything else. What about if he really is just a creeper! Oh shit! Why do I always just see the good in people?_

I slowly walk over to the small dining table where he is now seated. I sit down across from him and put the honey down in between us after adding some to my tea. He is still smiling. _Is he always this happy? No Ana! Focus at the task at hand remember. Interrogate him first, since all he has done is interrogate you!_

I decide to ignore all his previous comments and get right to the point. I take a sip of my tea, which scalds my tongue and warms my throat and stomach. It gives me the reassurance that I need to look back up at him and begin my inquisition.

"So, Mr. Grey how did you meet my father," I question. _There that should get the ball rolling._

He looks taken aback by my change in attitude, but does not seem too shocked. I would think he is more amused than anything else. _Really? Again with this!_ He takes a second to compose himself. There seems to be a gleam of sadness in his eyes as he adds the honey to his tea and drinks from it. Putting his tea down, he begins to talk. "It was 10 years ago. I had just gotten out of college after studying architecture and engineering. I might have been all over the map in my personal life, I was a pretty crazy 21 year old." _Hmm so he is 31 years old now. Wow. I did not think that he could be any older than like 27 or 28. And, it was 10 years ago. I would still be living with her at the time, so I guess Ray would not have really mentioned me much to others. Besides he has always been pretty reserved. Never mind Ana focus on what he is explaining. He does seem to be pretty serious and sincere now. _"Hell, I might still be all over the map regarding the other aspects of my life, but not when it comes to my job. I knew that I wanted to have my own construction company. I also knew that I would not just be one of those suits that sits back drawing the plans and leaving all the hard work to others." As he says this, he rubs his hands together. I notice that they are the hands of a working man, _just like Ray._ Before I can continue with that train of thought, his voice brings me back to his story. "Anyways, I was just starting out. My father had given me the financial backing that I needed and even referred me to some high paying clients. They were pretty demanding. As the new company and the brat that people must have thought I was, I wanted to prove myself capable, so they would change their opinions about me. I also wanted to prove to my father that his backing and trust were not in vain. I quickly started getting a group of the best workers possible to pull off the jobs. One of the clients however kept demanding more and more. They wanted custom made cabinetry that I was supposed to design, in order for it to fit the house to a T. I kept looking for people that were experienced with this in Seattle, but no such luck." He takes a pause to drink from his tea, and I do the same. I guess this is the part where he meets Ray. "So, I started asking in the nearby cities. I asked friends of friends and so on. Finally, I stumbled upon this man who did not only have experience with this kind of work, but also shared a lot of my ideas. That man as you may already suspect was your father, Raymond Steele. He helped me draft up the designs for the client, taught me to pay attention to every little detail, and make all kinds of pieces that could go into a house. After the job was completed, I started getting more and more job offers. Ray helped me out on a lot of them. He also grounded me by stating that I should do each job as if it were my last, because by then I was getting pretty cocky about my talents." He chuckles then takes another sip of his tea. "Time went on. He would continue to help me out, but not as much anymore. I would really just call him up whenever I was struggling with a job, and he would always be there. I even called him up like I said 6 or 7 months ago for advice on this new building. I never really told him how grateful I am… was of all the help he gave me. He never once asked me for anything in return, even when my company grew greatly in Seattle, and I truly admired him for that. He just helped me build my company and skills. He was never like the others that would use me or well now that try to use me after I have built a strong construction company." As he concludes, he remains silent and looks into his tea. I can see his body shift. I feel the waves of his emotions radiating from him. Sadness. Regret. But mainly, admiration.

As I come back from his story, I feel the tears on my cheeks. I always knew my dad was a good man. I changed so much thanks to him. He always had a way of supporting people and being the rock that they needed. I can see the same effects that he had on me on Elliot, and I know I can trust him. I have no doubt in my mind.

After a couple of minutes, the air around us seems to lighten up. It is then that he finally looks up, and he seems to be back to his playful self once again.

"So, Ana banana what do you say we take a break from all of this and get some lunch. I am starving over here" he informs me.

As if on cue, my stomach growls. We both start to laugh. We get up from the chairs and go back the way we came in. We leave the house, and we get into his white GMC pickup truck. We drive in silence to a nearby restaurant. We both order cheeseburgers and fries, yet he seems to think better of it and decides to get the lasagna and house salad as well. _How he will be able to eat all of that, well I have no idea._

As we wait for our food, I decide to break the silence.

"Thank you for telling me. I know that I can trust you" I state and smile a bit.

He replies, "good, because it is now your turn to explain."

I sigh. Yup. I knew he wouldn't give up that easily, but he did open up a bit with me. I guess it is only fair.

As I'm about to start talking, our food arrives. The focus shifts back to the food, and we are silent once again. Surprisingly, he managed to eat everything. _Where it went...I guess that will be a mystery. _He pays for our meal, and I thank him. We leave the restaurant and go back to my house. We get there and see that it is already 4 in the afternoon._ Well, we had late lunch, so I guess we will have late dinner as well. That means we do have time to get into the rest. Great._

We both go to sit down in the living room, and I sit across from him again. This time it is not, because I do not trust him, but because I want to be able to talk to him face to face. Without him having to prompt the conversation again, I start talking.

"Ok, so you asked me if my mother was here, because she should know what is going on. You also said that you wanted to have a conversation with her. Well, I am not really sad to inform you that you basically just missed her." I take a short pause, but I do not give him time to comment. _I need to get this all out at once, so we can move on from this._ "She arrived here yesterday a little after our conversation. That is why I was so rushed on finding a job. I needed to have something tangible before going ahead with my plans. I did not want to do anything unless I had a way of going through with it, because honestly after opening that up, I would doubt that I would have been able to live with her through the couple of months before turning 18. I know for a fact that if I had had to go with her, then I would be out her door the second it was my birthday. So, this seemed like a much better plan. Well, she arrived here shortly after my dad's lawyer, Mr. Johnson arrived. He read my father's will, which indicated that all of his personal possessions were to be mine if I so desired them. He also said that upon turning 18, I will get $100,000 from the insurance plan he had. Anyways, my mother was upset from having to be here, since there was nothing for her. Mr. Johnson explained that I was a minor, so she needed to be present. He also explained to her that she was responsible for me. She still did not say anything, and she was most definitely not pleased. Then, Mr. Johnson brought up the fact that I wanted to be emancipated. She simply looked between us before agreeing to it." I take a pause to pull myself together, since I feel myself being pushed to the brink of tears. I blink them back. When I look over at Elliot, I can see him clenching his jaw tightly and fisting his hands. _I wonder what that is about. _I continue before I change my mind, "She immediately signed everything off. I signed next, and Mr. Johnson wrapped everything up, because she said that she wanted to leave as soon as possible. Once he explained what would happen with the process, she looked at me and said good bye. Then, she just left. I suspect that she is already on her way back to Georgia by now. I guess I will see tomorrow at the funeral, but by the way she said good bye I know she is not coming back." _There I am done._

"What happened between the two of you?" he inquires. _Great. Spoke too freaking soon._

"Well, she and Ray got divorced when I was 6 basically 7. Shortly afterwards, she remarried to husband number 3. After a while, things started to go wrong. By my 8th birthday, things, life there was unbearable for many reasons. Anyways, I finally confronted her as best as an 8 year old can. She chose not to believe me and gave me up over to Ray. I had always loved Ray as if he were my father rather than my step father, and he loved me as his own, because Ray and my mother had gotten married when I was just a couple of months old. He even adopted me straight away. As for my biological dad, he died a couple of days after my birth while he was in service, so Ray was really the first and only father that I knew. As for him, well I guess it was because he watched me grow up, and I was very much like him even if we were not related by blood. So, I came to live with him. After a couple of months, my mother got divorced. Then, she got married again to husband number 4 or Bob, who she is still married to. Time passed by and she never reached out to me or even Ray regarding me. She became a stranger in my life, and I was okay with that because I had Ray."

As I finish telling him my story, I feel the pain that he feels for me. _I do not know why? I am ok now. I guess I should let him know. _"It was really ok Elliot. I do not want you to feel sorry for me or anything. Honestly, I am fine." I try to reassure him by looking him in the eyes.

He breathes out and starts talking again, "I understand how you feel. I was actually adopted by my mother and father, Grace Trevelyan Grey and Carrick Grey. My younger brother, Christian and my younger sister Mia were also adopted, yet we did not see each other any differently than any other brother and sister would. My parents loved all of us very much, so I understand wanting to be with Ray and feeling as if he was your true parent. I even remember my own birth parents a bit, I was about 6 years old when they adopted me. I remember my birth parents not wanting me, so yes I understand you. _So that is why he acted like that when I told him about my mother. _And, like I said you can trust me, and I will help you out in any way that I can." I can see that he truly means it.

After our emotional conversation, we shifted into small talk until it was time for dinner. I learned a lot of Elliot's favorite foods, which are basically anything with meat. I also surprised him with my knowledge about sports. We pretty much share a lot of the same interests, except my nonstop reading habits.

When dinner time came rolling around, he wanted to dine out again, but I was exhausted from the emotional roller coaster ride that today had become. I decided to surprise him again with my cooking abilities, which he now proclaims surpass those of anyone he knows. He even declared that I would now be the official cook, which I do not really mind, especially since I would have done it anyways. After all the support he is willing to give me, it is the least that I can do. We kept talking about everything and anything as we ate our garlic sauce pasta, grilled chicken, and baked potatoes. We did refrain from anything too emotional though. I think we both had had enough for one day. When we finally looked at the time, we were shocked to see that it was close to midnight. _Wow. Time has really flown by._

"Well, I guess it's time for me to leave now" he mentioned as he slowly got up from his seat.

I did not really want him to go. _Why?_ Before I knew what I was doing, I told him "well, why don't you stay here? We _damn it! It isn't Ray and me anymore. _Umm I mean the house does have a guest room after all. You can use Ray's bathroom."

I watched as he thought this over. Then he finally answered, "sure why not, we both need to wake up early tomorrow to actually get some packing done. Then, we still need to get the house ready before we leave. Wait, what time do we have to go again?"

"It starts at 10, so we probably need to leave the house around 9:20 am" I say.

"Ok. Sounds good. I am morning person, so I'll be up probably by 5 something, which will be later than usual, since you managed to keep me up past my regular bed time" he mentions with a chuckle.

I giggle as I respond, "well grandpa, I am not a morning person but I will try to be up by 6 am. Ok?"

"Sure, I'll get us some breakfast, so you can sleep in" he answers.

"Ok. Sounds like a plan" I tell him.

"Good, ok let me call off my hotel reservation and get my suitcase from the truck, so you can let me know where everything upstairs is" he says as he walks out the door.

A few minutes later, he comes back with his stuff, which I must say is very little for a whole week. _Oh well, I guess that will just mean more laundry. I assume he does know how. Hmm... I never did ask him if he does have a girlfriend. I know there isn't a wife though, since he would have mentioned her or called her at least at some point most definitely. And, he wasn't wearing a ring. Jeesh. Where am I going with this again? _

I give him a quick tour of the remaining of the house and show him to the guest room and Ray's bathroom. When we finally say good night, he gives me a hug, and I actually feel safe.

I retreat back to my room to get the rest of the stuff ready for tomorrow. _Yup tomorrow is going to be a long and exhausting day. Yet, knowing that Elliot is going to be there with me the whole time, makes me feel better. Not as alone. It almost feels like I have a piece of Ray back. Weird. Oh well. It is best that I don't dwell on this anymore. I really need to go to bed._ As soon as my head hits my pillow, I go to sleep.

**CPOV**

_Mommy? Mommy! Mommy! I'm hungry mommy...Mommy? Oh no he's back. I have to hide. I need to hide. I can hear him. He's here. OH WHAT NOW?! WHAT HAS THAT BITCH DONE NOW! FOR FUCKS SAKE. NOW WHERE ARE YOU, YOU LITTLE BASTARD COME HERE! OH THERE YOU ARE! WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU COULD HIDE FROM ME! I try to escape, but he is to strong. He throws me onto the floor. He then goes to where mommy is. He lifts her up by the hair as she sobs in pain. He gets angrier hearing her. He slaps her across the face and throws her on the floor again. He sees me trying to go to mommy. He kicks me right in the stomach again. Pain. Pain. So much PAIN._

I wake up drenched in sweat. _Shit! God damn it! The nightmares keep getting worse this week. Today's has been one of the worst that I have had in a long time. It's all thanks to fucking Elliot for getting in my fucking head no doubt. THIS! This right here is exactly why I need control, so shit like this does not happen._ I look over at my clock and see that it is _what a fucking surprise_ 3 in the morning again. _I should really see Flynn today I guess. Yeah. I'll make an appointment for later today._

I get out of bed and go to my piano. For some reason, I cannot relax like I normally do, when I play. As soon as I see that it is 5:00 am, I run up to my room to change into my workout clothes. I missed my session with the sub last night _yeah who's fucking fault was that Elliot for being such an annoying bastard,_ so I will be having to exercise for a longer time today just to get rid of all this energy. After knocking Bastille on his ass a couple of times, I go out for a run while Taylor trails behind me. I run until I cannot handle it anymore _the burn always feels good _and return to Escala. I get back nearly at 10:00 am. I take a shower and change, before eating breakfast. I make my appointment to see Flynn at the end of his work day, which means that I have to kill time until it is 6:00 pm. I decide to just go to my study and work from there. I eat lunch in my office and just work through the rest of the day. It is finally 20 until 6, when I leave Escala to go to Flynn's.

I enter Flynn's waiting room like always with 2 minutes to spare. _I hate people who cannot be punctual. Why the fuck would clocks and watches exist, if they are not meant to keep you on schedule._

As soon as I enter the room, our friendly banter begins. _I don't even remember how that shit began, but I have been seeing Flynn for over 2 years. So far, he has helped me more than any other so called therapist even if his SFBT or Solution Focused Brief Therapy is shit._

"Well, hello there Christian. It has been a couple of weeks, since your last visit. Any reason why you hadn't scheduled an appointment before" he asks as we sit in our regular seats. He is at his leather chair with his notepad ready, while I opt for the couch closest to the window.

"No real reason at all John. I think you earn enough from me, so I thought it was time that you get more clients that can fund you" I reply with a smirk.

"Well, what particularly made you schedule this specific appointment?" he asks while preparing to jot things down.

"Same shit as always John" I answer.

"What specifically are you referring to?" he inquires trying to dig deeper.

"What do you mean what do I specifically refer to?!" I say back to him. "The fucking nightmares that is what I specifically refer to" I conclude getting louder as I go.

"What was it about this time?" he asks.

"What else?! It was about the fucking crack whore and her god damn pimp. He comes in like always. I try to hide, but he always finds me. Then, he beats the shit out of me" I am yelling back to him by now. Yet, he never flinches. I can never seem to shock or surprise him.

"What do you think provoked your nightmares again?" he probes.

"If I fucking well knew, I would not be here with you" I shout back to him. _The fuck! Does he really not get it!_

"Christian, I am here to guide you through the process only you can help yourself. Until you are willing to follow my Solution Focused Brief Therapy and set determined goals, we cannot go forwards. So, all I can do is guide you for now" he mentions.

It calms me down enough to talk to him again. "Elliot came to see me yesterday at my office, so we could do lunch and talk about the projects that are currently going on. He gave me shit from the beginning, because I had briefly forgotten about our meeting, since it was not really scheduled. Then, he decides to take fucking calls while he is there only to waste my time. I did not tolerate his shit. In the end, he had the nerve to go off on me after he was the one that was being the fucking asshole" I tell Flynn. _Oh joy what shit is he going to say now. Why did I fucking tell him anyways? Oh yeah cause the shit Elliot pulled is doing my head. That's why._

"After your encounter with Elliot, what were you feeling exactly?" he asks.

_Why the fuck is he asking what I was feeling._ "John you fucking know that I do not do feelings" I retort.

"Christian, everyone is capable of having feelings of all kinds. How you were feeling must have stressed you out enough to escalate your night terrors" he concludes.

_What the fuck does he know? _"I was not in control of the fucking situation that is all" I say coldly and with that it is time for me to leave.

I go back to Escala still feeling like shit. _What the fuck does Flynn know anyways? I need to get a new sub and get this taken care of. _With that I retire back to my office where I eat dinner and work well past midnight. I go to bed almost dreading having to go to sleep, but even I need a couple of hours of sleep in order to fucking function.

**I will update Chapter 3 shortly. I really hope it is faster than chapter 2... I promise to speed things up soon too! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: Is it truly good-bye?

**Hello! ...Again. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to update my story, but life happens. Even though I really want to update this story every day, there are all types of commitments and distractions that I have recently had. And, I also want to do my story justice. Anyways, this chapter may still not give you what you want to read per say, but I will be speeding things up in Chapter 4 and get on track with the actually meat of my story by Chapter 6 at the latest. Well, thank you for those who are still sticking with me. I will try much harder to update the chapters sooner. Again, any reviews are well welcomed! Enjoy.**

**Chapter 3 – Is it truly good-bye?**

**APOV**

Today has been an exhausting day. Looking back on it, I seriously doubt that I would have managed to survive it without Elliot by my side. _Why is it that I feel so comfortable with this 'stranger'? _*sigh*

It doesn't really matter though. Elliot is all I have after I am done with school this week. I cannot even imagine how Madison and Beth will react when I tell them about the great move to Seattle on Friday. They have been my best friends/sisters, since I was little.

_I can still remember when I told them that my parents were getting divorced and the consequential move with my mother and husband number 3 to Nevada. They were so mad at me for breaking our little trio. When I came back, they quickly forgave me, and things went back to 'normal', which was the only real reason that I was able to survive that previous year in hell. They were able to pick up the pieces that my life had been reduced to. However, how hard can it truly be for an eight year old to pretend that she just woke up from a horrible nightmare and was back where she was supposed to be? I know that this time around things will be more permanent though, which only breaks my heart more, because I will truly lose the remainder of my small family. I know though. I know that me staying here is really out of the question. No matter how self-assertive I may try to act I still need help. And today proved just that. The support that Elliot gave me versus that of Madison and Beth was nothing alike._

As I start to remove all of the black clothing that I will hopefully never have to wear again, I begin to recall every detail of the past 24 hours.

_I was woken up by loud noises downstairs. I briefly forgot about the fact that Elliot had stayed in the house, so I rushed out of bed and grabbed the baseball bat in the corner of my room to deal with the intruder. I was almost down the stairs when Elliot appears in front of me carrying a tray with breakfast foods. As I shrieked, I missed a step and landed on my ass right in front of him. I burst into a fit of laughter, which quickly turned into full out sobs. Meanwhile, he just stared as if I were crazy._

_After explaining that I forgot he was there and sitting down right there on the stairs to eat breakfast, we remained in a comfortable silence. He must have felt my need to pretend everything was 'normal', because afterwards we just began to pack and ready the house for the wake that would be right after the funeral. At 8:30, I left him downstairs to start getting dressed. By then everything I did was based purely on mechanical movements. Shove a hand here. Shove a foot there. I did not allow myself to actually think over what I was doing, since I would break down much worse than what I had just done a while ago when I fell down the stairs._

I tremble as I try to block out those feelings from resurfacing, so I continue to my bathroom to take a long shower in attempts to relax myself. As I close my eyes and wash my hair though the day continues to replay itself in my mind.

_When I finished putting on my shoes, I went downstairs to find Elliot, since I had arranged for Ray's truck and my beloved VW bug, Wanda to be towed away while we were at the funeral. I could not stand by and watch as they took away yet another piece of him from me. Sensing my distress, Elliot had offered to at least buy Wanda, but I could not take advantage of him like that. One thing was to accept some help to sort out the necessities in my life, while another thing was to take advantage of the situation I had forced Elliot into willingly or not. It still was really sweet of him though to offer. He actually seems to care, yet I think he feels as if taking care of me is some sort of obligation he must fulfill, in order to repay all of Ray's help._

_After looking throughout all the rooms downstairs, I finally found him in the garage organizing the boxes that were ready, so the movers would be able to easily load them to their truck. As I approached him, I noticed that he was on the phone with someone, so I decided to stay back for a bit and listen to him. *augh* I tell myself to just leave and come back, since eavesdropping is not the greatest thing to do. But, I couldn't help myself on trying to learn more about Elliot, the friendly stranger. Well, I guess the recently acquired friend._

It was a good shock to listen to him talking to his mother. The thing that surprised me was the unspecific details that he gave about me…hmm weird…but I guess it wasn't really nothing. Still, I can't help and think back on the snippet of the one sided conversation.

"…_sorry mom I won't make it to dinner…I know, but I'm actually in Montesano for a friend's funeral… No that's okay. He was more of a coworker from a while back… No. No, seriously it is fine, besides another friend of mine here is actually moving to Seattle, so I will be staying for a while and helping out with the big move… Yeah, I know... I would love to see all of you too, but really it isn't necessary… I know that Mia is just coming back from her trip, yet knowing her she will just call me and annoy me with all the details before dinner anyways…mhm…yeah sure…well, tell Mia that her big brother says so…thanks…" As I try to get a little closer without being noticed, I failed miserably, so Elliot finally began to wrap up the call. "Oh I go to go. No really thank you. Ok. Yes, I promise to see you soon. Sure, no problem. Ok. No, mom I really have to go ok you too. Ok. I love you. See you soon. Ok. Bye." After hanging up, Elliot did not allude to the conversation at all, so I decided to drop it. We just stayed in a semi-awkward silence as we got into his truck and left for the funeral home._

As I step out of the shower to dry myself, I think more of the phone call, but I guess it really was nothing. He probably did not want to explain himself in too great a detail at the moment, and we were pressed for time to get to the funeral. Yeah, it was probably nothing.

I finish getting dried off, moisturized, and dressed to go to bed. As I climb into bed, I recall the dreaded part of today. The funeral itself.

_Mr. Johnson had done a beautiful job with the arrangements and in all the attention to detail in order to honor Ray's efforts in the army as well as his passion for fishing and the Mariners. _

_As I remember all the times that Ray would plop down on his recliner with the television remote in his right hand and beer in his left to watch a Mariners game after a long day at work or after returning from a fishing trip that I had extremely opposed, I cannot help but feel my heart strings being tugged, especially upon seeing all of the people that decided to show up to say their goodbyes. _

_Ray may have been pretty reserved and secluded, but he left an indelible impression on those that had the chance of meeting him. Upon entering the actually hall where the funeral is going to occur and seeing the closed casket, I cannot contain my sorrow any further. I just break down and get dragged to the front row seats by Elliot. I did not even notice when Madison and Beth came up to me to give me their condolences as well as to sit by me. I can't even remember when the actually funeral started or ended or us walking out to the cemetery along with Ray so that he could be lowered into his resting spot. I could only feel myself sinking into the same black hole that had begun to form after hearing those words from the doctor. I did not come back to reality until Elliot was stuffing a bouquet of flowers that was tied with fishing line and had fishing lures hanging from it while telling me that it was time to say goodbye._

Upon remembering the bouquet, I cannot help but slightly smile. It was made up of wild flowers that I recognized from the few fishing trips and hikes that I would go with Ray when I was younger. It was really thoughtful and unique. They were something that Ray would have really liked.

_After leaving the bouquet, Madison and Beth tried to cheer me up on the way back to my house. They kept going on about school, and the big plans that they were beginning to plan for a summer vacation that I would no longer be a part of. I wasn't really in the mood though to talk and explain my whole situation, so Elliot came to my aid once again pulling me out of the uncomfortable conversation as he drove us to the wake. When we returned to my house, he quickly pulled me into a corner of the living room and did not leave my side. He kept everyone else at bay with their questioning, and he even kept making sure that I was okay until everyone finally left. By then, it was well past lunch time, so he made sure I ate while he cleaned up everything and I sat in Ray's old recliner._

I still don't know how long I sat there just thinking about everything that has been happening and nothing at all. I can only remember him coming to check on me, so I would eat dinner and well follow with going to sleep, which is what I really should be doing. *sigh*

As I turn to look at the time, _holy shit_ it is already 3 in the morning. _I guess I should really go to sleep. I need to stop over analyzing everything and just get through these last few days as if I were checking things off a list. Yup, I just need to get through these last five days of school, tell Madison and Beth about the move, and finish packing. _When I close my eyes again, I cannot help but shiver at the thought of going to Seattle. *yawn* I guess whatever happens after tonight I will just learn to live with it. My only hope is that whatever will happen or wherever I end up, life will end up being better than these last few days here in Montesano _or that year in Nevada. No! Not going to think about that. _*yawn* I turn to my side and finally let sleep invade me.

**CPOV**

*buzz*…*buzz*

_What the fuck now?!_ I told Ros to fucking deal with the Chinese. I know this deal is crucial, since more than twenty thousand jobs are in jeopardy, but for fucks sake I told her not to disturb me for at least two god damned hours. I had just gotten rid of some of this fucking stress with Claude. Now. Now, it is fucking back. I really need to call Elena to hurry things up on finding me a decent submissive. Exercise is not cutting it anymore.

"Grey" I snap into my blackberry.

"Christian Trevelyan-Grey is that any way to talk to your mother" my mother immediately chastises me.

"No, I apologize mother. I did not see the caller id prior to answering. I thought it was work" I quickly respond otherwise I will never hear the end of it.

"Well, that is still no manner of answering the phone" she continues.

"I'm truly sorry mother. What can I do for you?" I reply hoping to move on from this topic, because I hate upsetting her even though I seem to do it on a regular basis.

"Well, I was just calling to ensure that you were still attending dinner tonight, especially since Mia is returning from Paris later today. You know how she is looking forward to seeing you, and it is already down to the four of us, since Elliot isn't coming" she warily explains.

"Yes, mother I will be coming for dinner_, but I won't be staying for the whole time even if the man-whore Elliot isn't there_." I respond as I begin to plan ahead on a way to get out of dinner early.

"Wonderful, we will see you at 7:30 sharp. Christian, don't be late. Bye, darling" she contently replies.

"Bye, mother" I say as I hang up the phone.

Well, I have most of the day free still, so it is back to work for me then. Ros better have made some breakthrough with the Chinese or I fucking swear…

As I glance at the time on my computer, it is already ten till seven. No real fucking head way was done with the Chinese. On top of that, I now have to travel to South Africa and deal with a vandalism and a resulting fire at one of GEH's shipyards there. _Fuck. I don't need this bullshit now._ I think of the mess that I will have to deal with as I violently grasp at my hair. And, now I have to deal with Mia and mother's endless questions while my father continues to silently brood over Harvard, which was basically seven fucking years ago. *sigh* _I might as well get this over with. _I get up and leave my office to get ready to leave Escala.

At 7:29, I am about to knock on the door, but it swings open instead to an overly excited Mia. Before I can even speak, I am dragged into the house to sit in the living room. After that, the rest of the night blurs into unending chatter between the three of them. As I am about to begin my exit the subject of Elliot's absence becomes part of the conversation. _Hmm. I might as well find out what the fuck was wrong with him._

"So, mom when is Elliot coming back to Seattle?" Mia eagerly questions.

"I am actually not sure honey. He wasn't very specific with his plans" my mother answers as she continues to sip on her wine.

"Where did you say he was Gracie?" my father inquires.

_Yeah. Where exactly did he run off to that he is going to make me deal with that imbecile, Matthew Walker. I swear my idiot of a brother will hire just about anyone._

"Oh, I believe he said Montesano" she softly replied.

"What is he doing there? Isn't Montesano like 2 or 3 hours from here?" Mia begins her inquisition.

_Yes. What is so important that the idiot had to go just 2 hours away and couldn't deal with his responsibilities? He is probably chasing some pussy around. Yeah as if that were such a surprise._

"Oh, well he was actually attending a friend's funeral today, but he is going to stay there and help another friend move here actually. I offered to go see him today, but he declined." Mother quietly states.

_Well, fuck. I feel like a dipshit now. Actually, never mind. Elliot, the man-whore, is probably helping his flavor of the month move while still attending the supposed funeral. No fucking wonder he took a week off. _I am pulled out of my thoughts by my buzzing phone. _Fuck. Could this day get any worse?_

"Mother, Mia, Father," I begin my explanation "a protest is about to commence at one of our shipyards that has just suffered a couple of incidents, so I am afraid I will have to head over there earlier than I had planned. If you will excuse me…"

I quickly make my leave while I promise to come back soon. _Anything just to get me the fuck out of here._

After arriving in South Africa, I spend Monday and Tuesday mainly dealing with the clean-up of this major cluster fuck. However, I find the time to annoy the shit out of Mr. Walker, so he in return will pester and bother the fuck out of Elliot. _Yeah, it serves him right. Even if he is my fucking brother, he still has 8 major contracts that he has to deal with rather than prance around and fuck his new whore._

By Wednesday night, I am back in Seattle having finally dealt with South Africa, which still leaves the Chinese to fucking deal with. *sigh* Tomorrow is going to be yet another long day at the office. _I can't fucking wait for Elena to find me that sub, so I can finally get the good long fuck session that the beast is desperately craving for. I hope that the submissive she finds me is very well trained. I am fucking annoyed of having to constantly cancel contracts over their delusional beliefs of being in love with me. _

**APOV**

…Monday goes through a blur. I avoid Madison and Beth, which is pretty easy since the only exam that we will share will be on Thursday. _I guess I will wait until after the exam then to tell them. I know that it is a horrible thing to do, but at least I will still be giving them a 24 hour notice before I basically skip town on them._

When I arrive home, I don't see Elliot or any boxes, so I guess that the move has officially started. I decide to just lock myself in my room to prepare for my other finals and exams.

The next thing that I know is that it is already Tuesday. I quickly get dressed and head out to school, since I am already so late. As I leave, I notice Elliot's truck in the garage. _He must be back from wherever he went, but it was weird that I didn't hear him or anything._

As soon as I finish my tests, I bolt. When I arrive to the house again, I don't see Elliot's truck again. _Whatever._ I reheat some leftovers and go to my room again. By 9:00 pm, I decide to see if Elliot has returned, but all the lights are out. I go back to my room and go to sleep.

Wednesday rolls in. I am half way done with this week, and I am feeling extremely anxious. When I go down for breakfast, I find no Elliot again. _I wonder if he has backed out of his offer. No. He probably just has errands to run. Yes. That is probably it. _I clear my head of all those doubts and go to school.

In between exams, I almost run into Madison and Beth, but thankfully I was able to avoid them. _Tomorrow, will be a long day for us._ As I leave school and head home, I almost jump out of my skin when a car honks at me only to turn around and find Elliot behind the wheel of his truck. As I finally see him after three days, I cannot stop the smile that grows on my face. _He's here._ He stops and motions for me to get in the truck. When I do, I suddenly feel awkward with him. _I cannot believe I was thinking the worst about him. He has been really nice and deserves my trust. _Finally, I relax after several minutes of small talk and finding out that he has been dealing with a demanding client back in Seattle. _Must be some client for him to drop whatever he is doing. _When we get to the house, I decide to spend more time with him rather than my books. I feel so comfortable with him to the point that I begin to discuss my self-doubts about Madison and Beth. He listens to everything I have to say and actually offers some pretty sound advice.

"…Ana, love and any type of relationships should not be conditional if they are real. If they are conditional, then you will know who is worth keeping in your life and who isn't. Trust me. It isn't mean or horrible to let those people go. It simply means that you are growing up and valuing your own self-worth. Plus, you never really know what lies ahead, and you will never find out if you aren't honest with yourself and others" Elliot suggests before turning into his goofy and adorable self again. _Adorable? What am I thinking?_ I ignore my wayward thoughts as we finish the day together. As I go to sleep, I prepare myself for the tomorrow. _One more thing to do before Seattle._

Now that Thursday has arrived. I think I am ready to start saying good-bye to everything here. Well, it will hopefully be good-bye just for now, like Elliot said who knows what the future holds. I guess I will have to just wait and see. _Yes. It won't be good-bye, instead it will just be laters…_


End file.
